Cordless iron apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cordless iron apparatus for ironing a material that deteriorates at a predetermined temperature and including an iron formed with a heat-retention sole plate and including an electrical heating element disposed in heat exchange relationship with the sole plate for heating thereof to a selected temperature higher than the predetermined temperature. The iron further includes an electrical circuit means connected with the heating element and an electrical prong projecting from an electrical insulator. The sole plate is covered by a heat control sheet consisting of short fibers of aromatic polyamides to enable such material to be contacted by the iron when the sole plate is at the selected temperature without burning such material. A stand is provided for receiving the sheet and nesting the iron in a supporting position and includes an electrical insulator formed with a passage aligned with the prong when such iron is in its nested position, such stand further including an electrical terminal disposed in such passage for contact by the prong and electrical circuitry for connection with an electrical source. Thus, the iron may be nested in the stand and the sole plate will be heated to such selected temperature and the iron then removed from the stand and utilized in ironing the material without damage thereto, it being realized that such ironing may be continued until the sole plate cools below the temperature at which such ironing becomes ineffective.

United States Patent 1 Dikoff [111 3,745,676 July 17, 1973 CORDLESS IRONAPPARATUS [76] Inventor: Joseph K. Dikofl', 4 Privateer St., No.

3, Marina Del Ray, Calif.

[22] Filed: Aug. 4, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 278,178

3,413,742 12/1968 Sueur et al 38/96 Primary ExaminerPatrick D. LawsonAtt0rneyVern Schooley et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A cordless iron apparatus for ironing a material thatdeteriorates at a predetermined temperature and including an iron formedwith a heat-retention sole plate and including an electrical heatingelement disposed in heat exchange relationship with the sole plate forheating thereof to a selected temperature higher than the predeterminedtemperature. The iron further includes an electrical circuit meansconnected with the heating element and an electrical prong projectingfrom an electrical insulator. The sole plate is covered by a heatcontrol sheet consisting of short fibers of aromatic polyamidcs toenable such material to be contacted by the iron when the sole plate isat the selected temperature without burning such material. A stand isprovided for receiving the sheet and nesting the iron in a supportingposition and includes an electrical insulator formed with a passagealigned with the prong when such iron is in its nested position, suchstand further including an electrical terminal disposed in such passagefor contact by the prong and electrical circuitry for connection with anelectrical source. Thus, the iron may be nested in the stand and thesole plate will be heated to such selected temperature and the iron thenremoved from the stand and utilized in ironing the material withoutdamage thereto, it being realized that such ironing may be continueduntil the sole plate cools below the temperature at which such ironingbecomes ineffective.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures CORDLESS IRON APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relatesgenerally to a cordless electrical iron and more particularly to an ironof this type that may be heated well above the temperature at which thematerial to be ironed burns to thereby reduce the criticalness of thetemperature setting and enabling the iron to be utilized for a longperiod of time upon a single heating thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many cordless irons have been proposedbut such irons generally include metallic sole plates which may or maynot be covered by a friction-reducing coating but which can only beheated to a relatively low temperature because of the danger of burningthe material to be ironed, thus necessitating frequent reheating thereofand rendering practical use of such iron unfeasible. Irons of this typeare shown in the following U. S. patents:

U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,507, A. C. Hoecker U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,143, A. C.Hoecker US. Pat. No. 2,130,507, L. Rubinstein SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe cordless iron of the present invention is characterized by a sheetcovering the iron sole plate and formed of short fibers of aromaticpolyamides which enables the sole plate to be heated to an elevatedtemperature for storage of a substantial quantity of heat which may betransferred therefrom during ironing of a material that would ordinarilybe burned by a sole plate elevated to such temperature, thus reducingthe criticalness of the temperature setting and enabling use of suchiron for a relatively long period of time without recharging thereof.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom a consideration of the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side view of a cordlessiron-apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the iron removedfrom its stand;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a stand included in the cordless iron apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken alongthe line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken alongthe line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along theline 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along theline 77 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, thecordless iron apparatus of the present invention includes, generally, aniron 1] formed with a heat-retention sole plate 13 (FIG. 2) and havingan electrical heating element disposed in heat exchange relationshiptherewith and connected in electrical circuit with a pair of plug prongsl7 and 19 (FIG. 4). Still speaking generally, the sole plate 13 iscovered by a sheet 21 of short fibers of aromatic polyamides, such sheetbeing described in more detail hereinafter. A stand, generallydesignated 25, is provided for receipt of the sheet 21 and nests theiron in the nesting positionshown in FIG. 1 with the plug prongs l7 and19 in electrical contact with electrical terminals 27 and 29 (FIGS. 5and 6) which are connected with a source of electrical current. The heatcontrol sheet 21 is of such a nature that the sole plate 13 may beheated well above the temperature at which a material to be ironed wouldnormally be burned and when ironing thereof is commenced, such sheetwill enable the heat to transfer from the sole plate 13 to such materialat a rate which will enable rapid and effective ironing of such materialwhile preventing burning or scorching thereof thus enabling such soleplate to store a relatively large quantity of heat for ironing for arelatively long period of time without reheating thereof.

With the present-day use of acrylics in the textile industry, personsinvolved with ironing thereof must take great care to adjust thetemperature of the iron to a temperature level that will effectivelyperform the ironing function while avoiding overheating thereof whichmay result in melting or burning of such acrylics. Many inexperiencedpersons will first raise the temperature level of the iron and test theheated iron against a margin area of the garment to be ironed and ifsuch mate rial is melted, the temperature setting is then lowered.Frequently, such lowering of the temperature setting is overdone, thusresulting in the iron rapidly cooling below the temperature at which itwill effectively iron such material. The heat control sheet 21 solvesthis problem by enabling the temperature to be set well above thetemperature at which the material may be effectively ironed thussubstantially reducing the criticalness of choosing a temperaturesetting.

The heat control sheet 21 is removably mounted in a shoe, generallydesignated 33, and which includes a frame 35 which is somewhat largerthan the overall area of such sole plate 13 and has the periphery of thesheet 21 removably secured thereto as disclosed in my U. S. Pat. No.3,435,548. The shoe 33 itself is removably secured to the iron 1 l bymeans of a coil spring 37 which fits over the rear of such iron to holdthe shoe in position.

The chemical structure of the sheet 21 is set forth in detail in myaforementioned US. Pat. No. 3,435,548 and is of the type designatedNOMEX High Temperature Resistant Paper marketed by E. I. duPont DeNemours & Co., Inc. of Wilmington, Del. As noted in that patent, suchpaper is formed of short fibers of aromatic polyamides that are pressedinto a pulp and processed on conventional paper-making equipment. Thechemical details of such sheet are set forth in detail in that patentand are incorporated herein by reference.

The sheet 21 includes a plurality of perforations 38 to facilitate heattransfer from the sole plate 13 and to allow such sheet to breathe toavoid moisture being absorbed in the pore of such sheet resulting inpackets of steam being generated resulting in the formation of blistersand consequent breaking down of such sheet. Further, the bottom side ofsuch sheet is coated with a high temperature resistant, moisturesealing, antifriction medium such as silicon resin sold under the tradename DC 997 by Dow-Coming Company or any other similar medium as setforth in my above-identified patent.

The iron 11 is formed with a body 41 having an upper water compartment43 separated from a lower steam chamber 45 by means of a horizontalpartition 47. Connected with the steam generation compartment 47 is anuprising passage 49 which connects with a steam nozzle 51 disposed atthe front of such body and directed downwardly toward material to beironed. A small diameter' breather hole 52 leads from the steamgeneration compartment through the sole plate 13.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, the partition 47 includes a threaded bore 55which has a brass fitting 57 screwed thereinto, such fitting beingformed with a through vertical bore 59 and a plurality of radiallyprojecting water passages 61. The lower end of the bore 59 is flaredoutwardly to fonn a valve seat 63 and a vertically projecting poppet 65is received therein, such poppet being carried from a stem 67 whichprojects upwardly to terminate in an enlarged head 71.

Mounted on the body 41 is a handle 73 which has a temperature selector74 mounted on the front thereof and an indicator light 75 mounted on theside thereof. Such indicator light 75 is connected in electrical circuitwith a temperature responsive switching element disposed in heatexchange relationship with the sole plate 13 and is responsive to suchsole plate being heated to a selected temperature to close an electricalswitch for energizing such indicator light 75 to indicate that such soleplate has been so heated.

The stand 25 is in the form of a rack 81 of sufficient dimension toreceive the oversized shoe 33, such rack being formed with an upwardlyand forwardly angled rest 83 which turns downwardly on its forwardextremity to define a support leg 85. The rack 81 is secured on its rearextremity to a heat and electrical insulative base 87 which is securedto a clamp 89 (FIG. 2) that may be utilized to secure the stand 25 tothe rear of an ironing board 91. Leading from the rear of the base 87 isan electrical cord 90 which has a conventional electrical plug on theend thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, the mount 87 is formed in its front sidewith an elongated slot 93 which is approximately onequarter of an inchhigh and projects outwardly beyond the front extremity of the terminals27 and 29 approximately one-quarter of an inch to thereby block fingeraccess to such terminal so users cannot accidentally contact suchterminals.

In operation, the stand 25 may conveniently be mounted from the rear ofan ironing board 91 by placing the clamp 89 in position as shown inFIG. 1. The plug on the end of the cord 90 may then be plugged into anelectrical socket and the iron 11 rested on the rest 83 to be slidrearwardly and downwardly thereon to engage the plug prongs 17 and 19with the electrical terminals 27 and 29 (FIG. The temperature selector74 may then be set at the desired temperature as, for instance, 400F forironing acrylics such as nylon or dacron. When the temperature of thesole plate 13 reaches such selected temperature, the thermallyresponsive switching element in circuit with the indicator light 75 willclose the associated switch to energize such light and alert the userthat the iron is ready for use.

The handle of the iron 73 may then conveniently be grasped and such ironslid up the rest 83 to disengage the plug prongs 17 and 19 from theelectrical terminals 27 and 29 to discontinue heating of the sole plate13.

The iron may then be lowered onto the material to be ironed and it hasbeen determined that the temperature on the bottom surface of the heatcontrol sheet 21 may initially be only a few degrees below thetemperature of the sole plate, as for instance, 393F for a sole platetemperature of 400F, and that acrylics which normally melt or burn atbetween l50F and 200F are not detrimentally affected. Rather, ironingthereof may be continued effectively until the sole plate 13 coolssufficiently to render the temperature on the bottom of the sheet 21ineffective for adequate ironing.

If it is desirable to utilize a steam spray for moistening the materialto be ironed, the user may conveniently engage the flange 71 (FIG. 1)with his thumb to depress the valve poppet 65 (FIG. 7) off its seat 63to enable water to flow inwardly through the water passages 61 anddownwardly past such poppet to enter the steam generation chamber 45, itbeing realized that air may be drawn into such chamber through thebreather hole 52. The relatively small cross section of such breatherhole 52 restricts any substantial amount of steam from emittingtherefrom, but rather, directs such steam through the steam nozzle 51from where it will be sprayed forwardly onto the material to be ironedthus rapidly moistening such material in a uniform and effective mannerwithout impinging excessive moisture thereon. It will be appreciatedthat such an arrangement overcomes the shortcomings of prior art ironsincorporating perforated sole plates from which steam is impingeddirectly on the material being ironed thus failing to obtain a uniformdispersement of the moisture and overwetting localized areas.

If at any time it becomes necessary for the user to manipulate thematerial being ironed with both hands, he may conveniently return theiron 11 to the stand 25 and electrical contact will be made to reheatthe sole plate 13 while the user is manipulating the material intoposition. On the other hand, when the user irons continuously for asufficient period of time to enable the sole plate 13 to cool below thetemperature at which an effective temperature is retained on the bottomof the heat control sheet 21, the iron may be returned to the stand 25and heating thereof continued until the indicator light is energized, atwhich time the user will know that the desired temperature has beenreached.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the cordless iron apparatusof present invention provides a highly convenient means for ironingmaterial with a hand held electrical iron without the inconvenience of acord being attached thereto. Further, such apparatus provides means formaintaining the iron at a sufficiently high temperature to perform theironing function for a relatively long period of time without danger ofburning the material being ironed.

I claim:

1. Cordless iron apparatus for ironing a material that deteriorates at apredetermined temperature and comprising:

an iron formed with a heat retention plate defining a sole plate andincluding an electrical heating element disposed in heat exchangerelationship with said sole plate for heating said sole plate to aselected temperature higher than said predetermined temperature, saidiron further including an electrical circuit means connected with saidheating element and an electrical insulator having electrical prongmeans projecting therefrom and connected with said electrical circuit;

a heat control sheet covering said sole plate and formed of short fibersof aromatic polyamides for preventing deterioration of said materialwhen said iron is placed thereon with said sole plate at'said selectedtemperature;

means for attaching said heat control sheet to said sole plate;

a stand for receiving said sheet and nesting said iron, said standincluding an electrical insulator formed with a passage aligned withsaid prong means when said iron is nested in said support and electricalcircuitry for connection with an electrical source and includingelectrical terminal means disposed in said passage to make contact withsaid prong when said iron is nested in said stand and said prong meansreceived in said passage whereby said electrical circuitry may beconnected with an electrical source, said iron nested in said support tocause said plug and prong to make contact to energize said heatingelement to heat said sole to said selected temperature, said iron liftedfrom said stand and said sheet applied to material to be ironed tothereby flatten and heat said material while said sheet preventsdeterioration thereof.

2. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ironincludes:

a water compartment;

a steam jet disposed above said heat storage plate and directeddownwardly to direct a jet of steam on said material adjacent one end ofsaid iron; and

valve means in said conduit means for controlling flow therethrough andincluding a control element disposed adjacent said handle.

3. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said passage is formed at its open end with an opening having at leastone dimension of its cross section less than one-quarter of an inch andsaid terminal is recessed at least one-eighth of an inch in said passageto restrict access to said terminal.

4. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said iron includes an indicator connected with said electrical circuitand a thermally responsive element in heat exchange relationship withsaid sole plate, connected in circuit with said indicator and LIIresponsive to said selected temperature in said sole plate to activatesaid indicator.

5. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 that includes:

means removably retaining said heat control sheet on said iron.

6. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim I wherein:

said iron includes a steam generator compartment having one wall thereofformed by said sole plate; and

a water chamber disposed above said compartment and a water passageleading from said chamber to said compartment;

a steam jet directed downwardly adjacent one end of said iron and aconduit leading therefrom and to said compartment; and

valve means in said water passage and including an actuator disposedadjacent said handle.

7. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said aromatic polyamide is on the order of NOMEX.

8. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said stand includes a rest for receiving said heat control sheet, saidrest being inclined to cause said iron to slide downwardly thereontodirect said prong into electrical contact with said terminal means.

9. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said passage is formed at its open end with an open- I ing having atleast one dimension of its cross section less than three-eighths of aninch and said terminal means is recessed at least one-eighth of an inchin said passage to restrict access to said terminal. 10. Cordless ironapparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said iron includes an indicator connected with said electrical circuitand a thermally responsive element connected in circuit therewith andresponsive to a predetennined temperature to activate said indicator.11. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 6 that includes:

means removably retaining said barrier on said iron.

' i i t I

2. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ironincludes: a water compartment; a steam jet disposed above said heatstorage plate and directed downwardly to direct a jet of steam on saidmaterial adjacent one end of said iron; and valve means in said conduitmeans for controlling flow therethrough and including a control elementdisposed adjacent said handle.
 3. Cordless iron apparatus as set forthin claim 1 wherein: said passage is formed at its open end with anopening having at least one dimension of its cross section less thanone-quarter of an inch and said terminal is recessed at least one-eighthof an inch in said passage to restrict access to said terminal. 4.Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said ironincludes an indicator connected with said electrical circuit and athermally responsive element in heat exchange relationship with saidsole plate, connected in circuit with said indicator and responsive tosaid selected temperature in said sole plate to activate said indicator.5. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 that includes: meansremovably retaining said heat control sheet on said iron.
 6. Cordlessiron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said iron includes asteam generator compartment having one wall thereof formed by said soleplate; and a water chamber disposed above said compartment and a waterpassage leading from said chamber to said compartment; a steam jetdirected downwardly adjacent one end of said iron and a conduit leadingtherefrom and to said compartment; and valve means in said water passageand including an actuator disposed adjacent said handle.
 7. Cordlessiron apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said aromatic polyamideis on the order of NOMEX.
 8. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth inclaim 1 wherein: said stand includes a rest for receiving said heatcontrol sheet, said rest being inclined to cause said iron to slidedownwardly thereon to direct said prong into electrical contact withsaid terminal means.
 9. Cordless iron apparatus as set forth in claim 6wherein: said passage is formed at its open end with an opening havingat least one dimension of its cross section less than three-eighths ofan inch and said terminal means is recessed at least one-eighth of aninch in said passage to restrict access to said terminal.
 10. Cordlessiron apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein: said iron includes anindicator connected with said electrical circuit and a thermallyresponsive element connected in circuit therewith and responsive to apredetermined temperature to activate said indicator.
 11. Cordless ironapparatus as set forth in claim 6 that includes: means removablyretaining said barrier on said iron.